The present invention is directed to a method of and apparatus for introducing additives, in particular inoculation agents, into a metal bath.
It is known to introduce additives into a metal bath, either for the purpose of degasification, deoxidation, desulfurization, or alloying of the metal melt. Further, it is known to introduce the additives in powder form, granulated or in large pieces into the metal melt by hand or mechanically. In addition, it has been proposed to introduce the additives by means of a lance using gases as the conveying medium. These various ways of introducing additives are not fully reliable. Particularly, the manual introduction of the additives is often difficult and depends to a great degree on the ability of the person effecting the introduction.
Supplying the additives into the metal bath by means of a lance can be disadvantageous, since frequently the lance is destroyed by the bath. Furthermore, the use of lances is restricted primarily to batch treatments. Additive introduction by a lance generally causes violent turbulence within the metal bath. Such turbulence is especially undesirable when the melt contains easily oxidizable additives, such as magnesium.